Under the Same Stars is the Best We Can Do Tonight
by hayj
Summary: AU in which Carolyn is alive.
1. Chapter 1

**This is _AU_. The characters are taken from the world of Riddick which I don't own. If you possibly recognize another movie, I don't own that either. I believe that the title came from a song but I don't remember which one, so I don't own that. And NO, my Riddick is not like the one you find in the movies (OOC and all that). ****Now, that we've covered all that, no bellyaching allowed. A backhanded compliment is still backhanded.**

**This story tends to jump around in time a bit (ok, a lot). It made complete sense to me when I was writing it, but when I started to pull all the pieces together I wasn't sure how it would come across to the reader. So, I suppose, this is your reader beware clause.**

**"Under the Same Stars is the best we can do tonight"**

Carolyn sat in the chair, pushed back away from the desk, her legs crossed at the knees her skirt hiked up a bit above them. She eyed the guards who hauled Riddick into the room. She sat quietly waiting for them to strap him to the specially designed chair in front of the desk, stopping them when they reached around to remove the plastic mouth guard that kept him from speaking. Riddick watched the quick tick of her mouth and the way her eyes ran over him.

"Leave" she told the guards whose complaints were quieted by an arched eyebrow. Carolyn followed them to the door locking it behind them, leaning against it for a moment before pushing away and approaching the man in the chair. Stopping behind him she gently placed her hands on his shoulders before placing a kiss on his bald head. Riddick remained quiet, simply moving his head to the side to see her. Trailing her fingers along his neck as she circled around him she leaned back against the desk smirking as Riddick glared.

"You know Riddick, I may never have you in this position again. Lucky for you I have the key."

Riddick growled as she unbuttoned her blouse to reach a master-key. Kneeling in front of him she unlocked the shackles on his feet before running her hands up his legs. She was unfastening his pants when he wrapped his thighs around her, bringing her closer as her hands wrapped around his length.

She heard him growl as she swirled her tongue up and down his cock. Reaching up blindly she fumbled with the key unlocking one of his hands which immediately unbuckled the guard covering his mouth before using her hair to raise her head. He lifted an eyebrow and she slipped him the key allowing him to unfasten his other arm. She gasped as he lifted her on his lap, her skirt rucking up around her waist. Reaching down he pulled her panties aside as she guided him into her wet heat.

"You call this a rescue?" he asked while scooping a breast out of its cup.

"Who said this was a rescue?" she gasped.

* * *

"What's that alarm for?" she asked from where her head laid limply on his shoulder.

"It's a riot," Riddick replied calmly.

Carolyn raised her head pushing back so she could see his face. "Are you serious? You have got to be kidding me!" she spat out disgustedly as she lifted herself from Riddick, a slight whine escaping her as they separated. Grabbing a handful of tissues off the desk she blindly shoved some at Riddick who took them with a shake of his head tossing them to the floor as he began to right his clothes listening to Carolyn rattle off her plans as she cleaned herself up before pulling her skirt down and fixing her blouse.

"Carolyn!" Riddick said placing his hands on her shoulders to get her attention. "You can't come with me. If you're seen escaping with me they'll hunt you down. If you make your way to safe room then they'll simply think that you were caught behind the lines and my escape will just be chalked up to the confusion.

"How will I know that you made it out?"

"I'll find you."

Carolyn finally shook her head in agreement. "I need to get to the tower to make sure the counter-alarm has been given. It'll look suspicious if I don't"

Riddick gave a quick nod and opened the door checking the hall before they parted ways.

* * *

The rat-a-tat sound of heels clicking hurriedly over the smooth marble floor echoed off the walls as the petite blond-haired woman, clad in a muted business suit, made her way to the deserted control room in the cyro-life section of the Super-max Prison.

Shutting the door quickly, she activated the locks before rushing over to the computer, punching in her access codes, impatiently tapping her foot as it connected with the mainframe before hurriedly tripping the silent alarm. Turning the monitor off, she unlocked the door, cracking it open to listen for anyone nearby. She exhaled slowly as silence greeted her.

Shutting the door quietly behind her she began the slow process of making her way towards the front of the prison where the guards had a safe room. She always did have crappy timing she thought as her mind drifted back to the events that led her here.

* * *

The insistent buzzing of the com was what finally made it through to her sleep-addled brain. Throwing an arm over her eyes willing the damn thing to shut up, she made it through two more incredibly annoying buzzes before reaching over to retrieve the remote from the nightstand. Siting up, she fumbled for the answer button. Running a hand through her hair, she blinked a few times as the image of an upset Jack appeared on the screen in her wall.

"Jack? sweetheart? What's wrong?" Carolyn asked surprised by the missing girls appearance.

"I forgot about the time difference." the girl said seeing Carolyn half-awake with hair stuck up in every direction imaginable.

Carolyn shushed her, "It's alright, Jack. What's going on? Are you in trouble?"

"Haven't you been watching the news feed? Haven't you heard?"

"Heard what, Jack?" Carolyn asked with a sinking feeling.

"He's been captured."

There was no need to ask who "he" was as the blood drained from her face.

* * *

After their rescue, Carolyn and Jack moved with Imam to New Mecca, neither having any other place to go. Riddick showed up every couple of weeks sticking around for a few days before disappearing as suddenly as he had appeared. Although Carolyn had never been able to get him to admit it, he seemed as unable or as unwilling as the rest of them to break the bonds that had been formed. For better or worse they were the dysfunctional family he had once accused them of being.

Imam began to tutor Jack and the girl had quickly found a job in town working a few days a week to earn her own spending money, absolutely refusing the allowance Carolyn had offered. Carolyn often felt as though she hovered somewhere between a big sister and a mother depending on the girls mood. Jack adored Riddick though and hung on his every word when he came to stay. Carolyn was always silently grateful that he discouraged her from traveling with him even when she begged him to let her tag along, encouraging her to keep up with her studies in his own gruff way. Too gruff at times causing Carolyn, in her room down the hall, to listen to Jack softly cry herself to sleep after he left.

The New Oslo Corporation had put her on indefinite medical leave until they decided what to do with her and she hadn't argued with them as she had needed time to heal from her injuries.

She sometimes wondered if that was what kept Riddick coming back in the early days when his visits were more frequent. She had needed constant care those first few months and many times she woke to find him sitting next to her bed, his fingers idly playing with hers.

He had often taken his meals with her in her room and many an early evening would carry her out to the patio, ignoring the wheeled chair, where they sat quietly talking about nothing as Carolyn drank the tea that Imam always seemed to have ready, before Jack blew in demanding his attention. Carolyn always waved them off with a smile, knowing that Imam would be out shortly with the chair to take her back to her bed.

Once she was released from her doctors care everyone had tried to get on with their lives.

When Imam met Lajjun and things became serious, Carolyn and Jack went house hunting. They found a house right outside of town, enclosed inside a tall Ivy covered wall, giving them privacy and space.

Imam and Lajjun had wed and immediately started a family. Jack had begun to work more and study less, staying away from home days at a time, reverting back to her old ways without Riddick's constant presence. Carolyn tried harder to get on with her life. Gardening, assuming a new consulting position for New Oslo, and occasionally dating.

However, the dating hadn't gone well. At all.

The two times she had attempted a night of no strings attached sex, Riddick had shown up.

The first time he had physically removed a man from her bed they didn't talk for the rest of his visit.

The second time, she was just reaching forward to grasp the head of hair that was between her legs when she saw his shined eyes in a corner near the door. The realization that he had been watching had her gasping in surprise.

Riddick hauled this man up off the bed, leaving Carolyn scrambling for a sheet, a blush blooming out from her chest until it scorched her cheeks, as they stared at each other silently. Riddick, tired of a having a squirming nude man in his grip, ordered her to change the sheets and take a shower. Flopping down on the mattress she listened to him stomp down the hall, slamming the front door shut behind him.

Lighting the small lamp on her bedside table, she found herself following his instructions, stripping the bed, comforter and all, before pulling out fresh, jasmine scented bedding and remaking it.

Blowing out the lamp, she padded her way across the room to the bath turning on the shower. Her hand dangled under the stream of water as her mind began to stray into dangerous territory but quickly pushed those thoughts away. She and Riddick would have a talk tomorrow about boundaries, and privacy. Or rather she would talk as he stood propped up against the counter, goggles firmly in place answering in monosyllables until she finished. He would then rinse his cup out, setting it gently in the dish drainer and walk out the door as if she had never said a word.

She took a moment to bang her head on the wall in frustration. Washing herself she let her head hang down as the water beat against her neck relaxing the muscles she didn't realize were so tight; her eyes closed, enjoying the sensation. The sound of the shower door opening caused her head to jerk up and she felt the blush from earlier return as she skimmed his body starting at his feet, up, up, up until she was staring into his silvered eyes once again. She sometimes wondered if instead of being born he had sprung from the ground perfectly formed. Her breathing became ragged, and she swore she could hear her heartbeat as Riddick took first one step and then another towards her. She slowly raised a hand, although she wasn't sure if it was to keep him away or draw him closer. Wrapping a hand around her exposed wrist he raised his other laying it against her cheek as his thumb rubbed over her lips. Carolyn could feel the roughened tips of his finger as she closed her eyes, lightly nuzzling his palm.

Sliding his thumb up under her chin, he tilted her head so that she was looking at him. Her tongue darted out to taste him on her lips as she watched him bend to cover her mouth with his own. She moaned lightly and he took advantage thrusting into her mouth, backing her into the corner of the shower. Carolyn's arms snaked up around his neck, kneading the skin at the base. His mouth withdrew causing her to whimper until he lifted her up so he could wrap his lips around a nipple. Carolyn groaned at sensation and didn't protest when he guided her legs up around his waist. Switching to the other nipple his hand found its way between her legs. Cupping her, his thumb ran over her clit a few times before his fingers attempted to find their way inside her. Carolyn's hands tightened on his shoulders, her blunt nails doing little damage, her back arching off the shower wall as his fingers began to pump in and out of her even as his mouth increased the pressure on her breasts. A lick of his tongue from her breast up to the sensitive skin at the base of her neck caused Carolyn to come, flooding his hand with fluid as he bit down.

He brought his hand to his mouth licking his fingers off before leaning in to kiss her again, letting her taste herself. Carolyn whimpered when he pulled back to look at her, unwrapping her legs from around his waist as he slowly set her back on the ground. He stood watching as she reached out grasping his cock with her small hand, running her thumb around the head, spreading out the liquid that had pooled there. Just as she was about to say his name, he spun her around pressing her up against the shower wall. Reaching out, Riddick adjusted the water that was beginning to turn cold before running a hand down her, his hands spanning her waist as his thumbs gently traced the thick ropes of scar tissue that littered her back. Carolyn hummed as he continued his exploration before slowly easing into her, her breath shuddering out of her chest as he filled her, throwing her head back against his shoulder as he settled in. Tilting his head down towards her neck, Riddick slowly began to move, pulling out and slipping back in so slowly Carolyn though she would scream at the exquisite torture of it all. As his breathing increased so did the tempo of his strokes, his hands playing over her body, knowing just what reaction he would achieve by the flick of a thumb, sending her spiraling over the edge taking him with her.

Turning the shower off he grabbed a towel handing it to her as he found another and began to dry himself off. Carolyn follow suit and before she realized what was happening Riddick was guiding her across the room, pushing her into and across the bed as he climbed in behind her, pulling her back up against his chest leaving her no choice but to use his arm as a pillow, the other clamping itself around her waist. Carolyn sighed as she felt his cock nestle up against her bottom and his steady breathing against her neck indicating that he was already asleep.

* * *

The next morning as she attempted to drag herself out of bed, Riddick's hand snaked out clasping her upper arm.

"Coffee," she murmured her voice still rough with sleep.

Letting go of her, he rolled over to his stomach turning his head in the opposite direction. Dragging her hands through her hair, she pulled on a robe and made her way to the kitchen where she started the coffee and began cooking a simple breakfast for the two of them.

Riddick appeared a bit later and she sat a cup and a plate in front of him. They ate their breakfast and were silently contemplating each other over their coffee cups when Jack burst in, her usual exuberant self.

"Riddick!" she exclaimed throwing her arms around his neck. "I would have come home last night if I knew you were coming! You've got to start giving us a heads up!"

At this, Carolyn rose from the table, slamming her plate into the sink, muttering under her breath.

"Is everything ok?" Jack asked looking cautiously between the two of them.

"Fine." Carolyn ground out between her teeth watching the sink fill with water as Jack began babbling to Riddick about something she wanted to show him in town. She held her breath as Riddick approached her from behind, slipping his empty plate into the sink and quietly rinsing out his cup. Leaning across her to set it in the dish drainer he leaned down brushing a kiss against her cheek before grabbing his cloak from next to the kitchen door and walking out with Jack.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2**

Currently however, she had bigger problems as she broke off the heels on her favorite shoes cursing Riddick and the situation in general. She had been making steady progress up until an hour ago when the sound of her heels had given her away. She had hidden in an office that had already been ransacked until she no longer heard shouting, gun shots, or any other noise. Back in the hall, she slowly crept, stopping and holding her breath at any noise. She wasn't sure how long she could stay out in the open, but her other options had her shuddering. She continued on her current path.

Coming to an intersection, she needed to turn right to avoid gen pop and to continue making her way to the safe room. Standing still, she listened for a moment before darting her head out taking a quick look in both directions. She had no sooner stepped a foot out into the hallway when a large hand, clamping down on her mouth to smother her scream, grabbed her from behind. Kicking at the man's legs as he lifted her off the ground, she managed to bite his hand at the same time. "Dammit, Carolyn!" she heard the person behind her say before removing his hand from her mouth. She went slack with relief as her mind realized that it was Riddick and not some strange prisoner who had her in his grasp. That only lasted a minute though as she started batting at the arms that were still firmly wrapped around her waist.

"Put me down!" she hissed.

He simply grunted, hauling her into the room behind him.

"What the hell, Riddick! You scared the crap out of me! First you tell me I'm on my own and then you're doing whatever it is that you're doing now!" She whispered as loudly as she could.

"Just what are you doing?" she asked as he stood there looking down at her, goggles planted firmly on his forehead, arms crossed over his chest.

"I'm trying to get you out of here." He answered pulling a chair over underneath a vent, going to work removing the screws from the cover.

"What?" She asked completely confused, throwing her hands up in the air.

Riddick looked down at her from his perch upon the chair as she rambled. "Why am I even talking to you?"

"Come here." He said his voice loud in the quiet of the room.

Carolyn, who stood with her back to him watching the door, looked over her shoulder.

He met her eyes across the room, "They know you're here."

"No shit."

"If I had known they knew, I would have taken you with me to begin with. They've been searching the prison section by section. There are only two sections left. Wanna guess?" he asked her raising an eyebrow.

"Where I'm headed and the women's section." Carolyn groaned.

"And I can't get you past them without them seeing and that ends badly for everyone."

Carolyn blew out a breath looking between the man in front of her and the opening in the ceiling. "I hate you, you know that, right?"

Riddick's mouth twitched as held his hand out. Carolyn took it as he helped her up on the chair beside him. "Right, left and another right should put you directly above the Safe Room."

She nodded in response as he placed his hands around her waist and began to lift.

"Wait!" She said softly.

Riddick slowly brought her back down until she was on eye level with him.

Carolyn slid her eyes over his face taking in a few new laugh lines around his eyes that had appeared since she had known him. Pressing a hand to his cheek she leaned in as her feet dangled, kissing him gently.

"Be careful." She whispered before pulling away. His eyes were darker as he met hers once again and she hadn't a clue what he was thinking.

"Right, left, right." He said once more before lifting her up into the ventilation shaft, hands running over her legs as he provided the leverage she needed to pull herself up. Looking down at him once more as he fitted the vent cover back into place she took a deep breath and began to make her way down the dark tunnel.

* * *

Carolyn sat back on her heels, "Are you staying for dinner?" she called after Jack, the screen door slamming shut her only answer.

Pursing her lips with a sigh, she went back to her gardening, her mind still occupied by the events of last night. When a shadow fell over her, the first thing she saw were the boots. "Wanna grab that flat of plants?" she asked without looking up. Watching out of the corner of her eye she waited till he had sat the box down beside her.

"Well, get down here." she said holding her hat as she tilted her head back to look at him.

Digging a hole she picked up a seedling, slipping it into the dirt and covering the roots. She picked up another plant and held it out. "Your turn."

Ignoring the look he gave, she continued to dig holes moving down the row, smiling to herself when he placed the seedling in the dirt. "So, what's wrong with Jack?"

Riddick frowned. "I was hoping you'd tell me."

Carolyn chuckled, "Age, hormones, surviving a crash on a hostile planet, the idea of a home and a family completely foreign to her after being on the run for years, trust issues. Does any of this sound familiar, because I can go on."

Turning her head to look at him she chuckled again when his reply was merely a "hmpft".

"What happened in town?"

"Everything was fine until she asked what was going on with us in the kitchen this morning."

Carolyn hummed in reply. "I should probably talk to her," she said pushing to her feet as she brushed the dirt off her knees.

Riddick caught her wrist in his hand. "She'll get used to it."

"Riddick, she's been in love with you since the day she met you. Her getting used to "it", whatever "it" is, is simply not happening."

"She's just a child." He said taking a step back.

"Just don't let her hear you say that." She said on a sigh as his hands moved to rub at her lower back.

* * *

Dinner was a quiet affair as Jack picked at her food, glancing at them occasionally from the corner of her eye. Riddick ignored them both keeping his eyes on his plate as he ate. Carolyn finally threw her napkin on the table, taking her plate to the sink where she began to clean up. "Jack, Imam and his family are coming over for dinner tomorrow night. I'd like it if you were here as well."

"I've got plans. I'm spending the night with friends."

"Jack, please don't go. This is your home, too." Carolyn said turning from the sink, pleading with the girl who turned her back and walked away.

"I'm sorry, Jack!" Carolyn called after her.

Jack turned to face her, causing Carolyn to suck in a breath at the look on her face.

"You can't help it that you're just as bad as all the other adults in my life."

Carolyn staggered back against the cabinet looking as if she had been struck.

They heard the front door slam shut a few seconds later and Carolyn's eyes began to fill with tears, her breath hitching in her lungs.

Riddick appeared in front of her, his hands wrapping around her shoulders as he pulled her close.

"She didn't mean it. She loves you."

"Maybe," Carolyn whispered back, "but she loves you more." She lifted her hands to tangle in the back of his shirt taking solace in the comfort he was offering.

They rarely saw her after that. She never, ever, came home when she knew Riddick was at the house, but Carolyn knew that she was staying there when she was away on business, and always made sure to leave a note with her hotel information and money for food.

Riddick had come to the house and tried to talk to her once when Carolyn was away. If the expression on his face when Carolyn walked in the door was any indication, it hadn't gone well. He didn't tell and she didn't ask as they weathered the storm of his anger in her bed.

She knew that Jack was still in the city, but as the weeks turned into months she began to give up hope. It didn't help that the time in-between Riddick's visits kept growing longer as well.

The business trip that she took weeks later set into motion everything that had happened since.

* * *

The insistent buzzing of the com was what finally made it through to her sleep-addled brain. Throwing an arm over her eyes willing the damn thing to shut up, she made it through two more incredibly annoying buzzes before reaching over to retrieve the remote from the nightstand. Siting up, she fumbled for the answer button. Running a hand through her hair she blinked a few times as the image of an upset Jack appeared on the screen in her wall.

"Jack? sweetheart? What's wrong?" Carolyn asked surprised by the missing girls appearance.

"I forgot about the time difference." the girl said seeing Carolyn half-awake with hair stuck up in every direction imaginable.

Carolyn shushed her, "It's alright, Jack. What's going on? Are you in trouble?"

"Haven't you been watching the news feed? Haven't you heard?"

"Heard what, Jack?" Carolyn asked with a sinking feeling.

"He's been captured."

There was no need to ask who "he" was as the blood drained from her face.

She sat gnawing on a thumbnail for a few minutes, before coming to a decision. "I'm going to need to check in at headquarters and call in a few favors, Jack. It'll be a week or two before I make it home."

"He doesn't have a week or two!" Jack spat out.

"Jack, they'll need him alive for a bigger payout. Whether we do something tomorrow or next week isn't going to make a lot of difference, and we need a plan. "I'll let Imam know when I'm due back. Just hold tight till I get there."

She finished the job she was working on and headed to HQ. There really wasn't any need for her to ever be there but she liked to pop in every few months and put her ear to the ground. She nearly went death with the noise on this trip. Riddick was big news. Another living survivor of the Hunter-Gratzner. She demanded to interview him about the crash.

She headed home for a week of R&R ordered by the company before leaving for the prison where Riddick was being held. In the meantime the Company was talking to the prison about having Riddick thawed from the frozen cryogenic state he was in. A new technique in cyro-statis, it was the latest fad with prisoners that had a habit of not staying put. Carolyn shuddered wondering how she was going to tell Jack that Riddick was nothing but a Popsicle.

She arrived home to an empty house, shaking her head tiredly, not knowing why she expected anything else and set about unpacking. Putting her clothes in the wash and making herself dinner with the supplies she picked up in town took up the rest of the evening. She found herself locking up the house and falling into an exhausted heap on her bed.

She made her way to Imams the next morning, playing with Ziza while waiting for him to return from a meeting. She thought she saw something fluttering in the doorway upon his arrival but shook her head to clear the cobwebs. The last few weeks had really gotten to her.

She was beside herself when she found out that Jack had left the same day they had talked. She had been unwilling and unable to trust Carolyn to handle things. Only the gods knew where she was or what trouble she had managed to get herself into. Carolyn found herself stuck at home waiting to get the necessary information from her employer and then having to decide who to rescue first. Riddick, whose location she knew, or Jack, who would lead her on a wild goose chase. Carolyn punched her pillow as she tossed in bed yet another night, the inability to do anything frustrating her.

* * *

Carolyn heard the commotion in the room and Riddick's roar moments before a white-hot pain tore through her shoulder. Riddick hadn't been able to stop the prisoner from getting off a few rounds before knocking the gun out of his hands and snapping his neck. Catching her breath, she fought the urge to vomit and tore the sleeve off of her injured arm using it to wrap around the gunshot wound hoping it would staunch the flow of blood. Pulling it tight around her arm, she cried out from the pain and this time her stomach gave her no choice.

Leaning her head against the wall behind her, she closed her eyes for a moment before assuring Riddick's voice that she was fine and to get the hell out of there. She settled into a weird sort of push and pull shuffle as her wounded arm was no longer able to support her weight as she crawled through the shaft.

What felt like hours later, she finally saw a beam of light in front of her and heard voices. Looking down into the room below her she let out a sob. She had finally made it to the safe room. Pulling her legs around she began to kick at the vent cover with her heel. "Let me in!" She screamed.

The guards in the room drew their guns all pointing in her direction. "Who are you?" One of them asked cautiously as he approached the vent.

"Carolyn Fry! I'm the consultant sent by The New Oslo Corporation! Please let me in! I've been shot!"

"Let me see your IdentCard!" The same man yelled back at her.

Carolyn pulled the card out from where she had tucked it inside her blouse hours ago, sticking it through the vents watching as it fell into the man's hands. "Please!" she whispered laying her head down next to the vent.

"Let me see." She heard a voice say. "I checked her in myself. She was here to interview one of the prisoners." She heard the new voice say after a moment.

"Alright Ms. Fry. We're opening the vent!"

She heard a chair being drug over and the sounds of a screwdriver taking the bolts out of the vents. It was slowly removed and the man who had checked her in cautiously stuck his head into the shaft, gun in hand looking in both directions. "She's alone!" He told his fellow guards reaching down to put his gun away.

"Let me help you, Miss." The guard said reaching out a hand to wrap under her uninjured arm. "Why don't you come out feet first?" He suggested and Carolyn nodded slipping her feet over the edge of the opening. "Can I get some help here?" He called out to the men below him, several moving more chairs over to help him lower her down, hands griping her waist as her head cleared the opening, strong arms carrying her to a cot as she stifled a moan.

As they performed what little first aid on her arm that they could, she let them know that she had been able to trigger the alarm letting the prison system know that they had been overtaken.

Many of the guards sighed and clapped each other on the back as they thanked her, knowing that help would soon be arriving. They dosed her up with Anestaphine and Carolyn didn't bother to object. She welcomed the numbness and floated in and out of consciousness. One of the times she awoke, the Riot and Rescue squads had arrived and she was on a gurney in the cargo hold of a transport. Rolling her head to the side she saw a man who looked suspiciously like Riddick in a guard's uniform lurking nearby. She closed her eyes with a shake of her head and when she opened them again the man was gone and she was in the ships Med-bay.


	3. Chapter 3

**Part 3**

Riddick wasn't about to admit that he was the slightest bit panicked when he barged through the back door of the holy man's house. He had just come from Carolyn's and it was evident that no one had been there in months. A layer of dust in the house and a dead garden mocked him as he kept a steady pace into town. If she were still alive she'd be at the priest's house, wouldn't she? He knew that she had been shot, but also knew that she had made it off the planet alive.

He had stolen a prison guard's uniform and Id, and with a hat pulled low over his eyes had managed to make his way off the planet with the rest of the rescued staff, including a very much alive but injured Carolyn. He had disembarked at the first stop unable to take the chance of staying on board till they reached their destination. He knew she was alive and that had been good enough. But what if something had happened between the time he had left her and now.

"Carolyn!" He bellowed as he hit the doors not bothering to close them behind him. "Carolyn!"

"Riddick?! I'm here! I'm here!" He heard her call out from somewhere in the house, the sound of running footsteps echoing along the wooden floors. He let out the breath he didn't know he was holding when she appeared at the end of the hall. His feet remained planted as she ran to him, jumping into his arms, a single leg hooking around one of his thighs, as her arms went around his neck clinging to him.

One arm around her waist, the other fisted in her hair, he found himself breathing in her scent. Pulling her head back, he claimed her mouth. Carolyn broke away first, bringing her forehead to rub against his cheek. "Where have you been? I was worried." She whispered as she slid down his body, her feet touching the floor.

"I wanted to wait until I was sure it was safe." He told her, his nose and mouth buried in her hair.

"Too long." She said running a hand over the growth of hair on his face and scalp.

"Why are you here? What's happened?" he asked taking a step back, glancing up at the stairs.

"It's alright," she said following his eyes. "Lajjun and her daughter are upstairs in the bath. We're basically alone until Imam returns."

Riddick hadn't stepped foot in this house since Carolyn and Jack had moved out. Lajjun had always been extremely disapproving of Imams friendship with the convict so both he and Carolyn had done their best to respect that. Riddick had only seen their daughter from a distance, always making himself scarce if the two families had prearranged plans when he was in town.

Heating up water in the kitchen, Carolyn carried a basin out to him and sat quietly watching him shave. Standing when Imam returned, a single glance from Riddick in her direction had her sinking back into the chair she was in.

* * *

She sat in the shadows as Riddick blocked out the sight of Ziza, watching and listening to Imam talk about world-enders and saving his family, having little sympathy as hers was in a state of fracture. Riddick seemed to pick up on her feelings as he shrugged his shoulders in non-chalance."It had to end sometime."

When the knock on the door came she jumped slightly, moving to yet another shadow in different corner, Riddick's eyes never leaving her. She locked her gaze with his as they listened to Imam greet his newest guests.

When the three men entered the room, Riddick stood quickly, closing the door to the study. Ripping the cloths off the first priests face, the other two quickly removed theirs as he inspected them closely. Carolyn gasped as he pulled his knife on the wind and a woman appeared. Riddick listened to the old woman talk, less than impressed by what she had to say, cracking a joke about being educated in the penal system.

When Imam began talking about Riddick's birth, she closed her eyes dropping her head to her chest. Looking back up, she discovered Riddick had turned his back on all of them and was looking straight at her.

She saw the pain in his eyes as they hounded him about his childhood, not at all surprised when he turned on the old woman in the blink of an eye.

They could hear the shouting in the plaza and the beating on the door seconds before Lajjun burst into the study letting them know that they were searching for a man who had been seen today. Riddick of course. Lajjun was beside herself causing Carolyn to rub her temples, the pounding on the doors matching the pounding behind her eyes. She always knew it had been a mistake to let the woman know about Riddick.

She watched as Imam pleaded with Riddick not to leave and threw Jack in his face as he rebuffed the man and headed to the window to make a quick getaway. As Imam guided them all out the doors with the delusion that he would be able to send the soldiers away, Carolyn saw Riddick pause.

She struggled and fought as the soldiers manhandled them going so far as to slap the one who had roughly drug Ziza out of the house, shoving her into her mother's arms. She could have killed the priests as they begged the soldiers not to hurt Riddick because they didn't understand. That he could help. Her eyes stayed glued on the upstairs window, covering her mouth when the room went dark. They could hear the sounds of a battle down here down in the street. Her eyes flew to Imam as the sound of splintering wood reached her ears and both his head and the head of the soldier guarding him whipped around at the noise. When the soldier dropped his knife and took off at a run, Carolyn's hand clutched at her heart in relief.

She stood at the door listening as Imam revealed that he knew Jack had been imprisoned, sending her thoughts and emotions reeling as they threw accusations back and forth, Riddick's growled declaration that they should all stay away from him dragging her out of her thoughts as he blew past her without looking back.

When Ziza called after him, he finally let himself make eye contact with her before glancing up. Stepping away from the door, she looked up and saw something white billowing in the window above her. When she looked back Riddick was gone.

Carolyn slowly sank to her knees as the world went mad around her.

The End.


End file.
